Understanding What Causes Heartburn

Managing Your Pain But Understanding What Causes Heartburn

Finding a remedy for you heartburn is best achieved by defining the what causes your heartburn.

Heartburn can be caused by many different things, and each sufferer has to look at their lifestyle and their diet to work out what is their primary cause.

Where to start
The best place to start is your weight. If you are overweight there is additional pressure on the stomach from the surrounding weight. This means that when the stomach is full, a movement such as bending over or lying down can put enough pressure on the stomach to force some of the contents back up into the oesophagus. Weight is often the main cause of heartburn. If you fit into this category it is important to try to drop a few pounds and you will quickly start to see improvements.

If you weight is fine, then you need to start looking at your diet. We all have very busy, stressful lives. The result of this is that many people have only one main meal a day. This means that you stomach is one size most of the time and then it is bombarded with food, often at the end of the day, which it has to find space for and be able to process. This unexpected overload can put pressure on the valve between the stomach and oesophagus which then causes the heartburn. If you fall into this category then you should try to regulate you eating so that you do not put your stomach under so much pressure and it is best to not have a full stomach last thing at night. Lying down with a full stomach means that gravity puts the LES valve under pressure.

Another category of people who suffer from heartburn are pregnant women. They do have the advantage of knowing that it won’t last forever, but that doesn’t make the pain any less. Pregnant women suffer because the uterus increases and encroaches on the space usually occupied by the stomach. If this is what causes your heartburn then try to eat small amounts regularly (remembering to stay off surgery or salty snacks).

If you have suffered from heartburn for a long time then it is possible that you have a slightly scarred or damaged tissue at the valve opening. By not putting the LES valve under pressure you will increase the chances of healing and reduce the occurrences of heartburn.

Ultimately, what causes heart burn is undigested food returning to the oesophagus, managing your food intake and stomach is without doubt the best way to reduce your heartburn.